Page 9 of Flawless

“You want me to go with you?”

Rylee smiled, and it felt like a shot to the solar plexus, taking my breath away. Damn.

“You’re sweet for offering, but I won’t subject you to that again.” She sighed. “Besides, I’ve got a couple of radio interviews lined up this afternoon.”

I knew I shouldn’t be disappointed. She was a busy girl, who probably had demands on her time from morning ‘til night. I couldn’t expect her to rearrange her schedule just because I was only going to be in town for a couple more days.

“But my friend, J.T. McCall, just texted me. He owns Jimmy’s. Have you ever been there?”

“Yeah, sure.” Whenever I came to town with friends, Jimmy’s was always one of our first stops, and I’d gotten to know J.T. pretty well over the years. He was a solid guy.

“J.T. asked if I wanted to sing there tonight, and I couldn’t say no. Wanna come with me?”

“Sure.”

Anything for a chance to spend more time with her, even if it meant sharing her with a bar full of people who would probably be clamoring for her attention. I had to admit, I’d downloaded a few of her songs when I was out running errands that morning. And her music seemed to run the gamut from high energy party songs to haunting ballads. Not that I was surprised. The girl herself seemed to be a paradox, so why shouldn’t her music be too?

“Awesome!” She sat at a stool at the small island and asked, “Has your ex reached out since she saw that picture of us?”

I moved one of the three stools so I was sitting across from her at the island. “How’d you know?”

“Because I’m a girl. And if I had a hot ex like you and wanted him back, I’d be crawling the walls knowing he was moving on with someone like me.”

I smiled, not even wanting to know how she saw herself. But I suspected she would be the type of woman who would intimidate an uptight, ice queen like my ex.

“Do you have a picture of her?” Rylee asked, obviously trying to play it off like a casual question, but her eyes told a different story. She was as curious about my ex as I was about hers.

“I don’t know. I may have deleted them all.” I reached for my phone and pulled up the photos, while biting into a piece of bacon. “Oh yeah, here’s one.” I passed Rylee the phone and smiled when she scowled at the screen. “What?”

“You didn’t tell me she was gorgeous.”

I couldn’t deny my ex, Kelly, was a knock-out. And the exact opposite of Rylee in every way. She was slender, 5’7”, with long dark hair, dark eyes, and an olive complexion.

Rylee was about 5’2” with killer curves, short blonde waves, sun-kissed skin, big blue eyes, and a cross between sexy and innocent that was impossible to figure out.

“Your turn. Show me your ex-boyfriend.” I couldn’t believe I was asking about the guy who’d been stupid enough to let her go, but knowing he was still in the picture made me curious.

“Hmm, let’s see.” She reached for her phone and started scrolling. “Here he is.”

“Huh.” I wasn’t going to trash-talk the guy because that would just make me look jealous, but he was a tall, lanky guitar player with old school tattoos, dark hair, a patchy beard, and longish hair. “If that’s your type.”

“I meant what I said last night…” She was biting into her bacon, watching me. “You’re my type.” Leaning in to tease me with her ample cleavage, she whispered, “There’s just something about a man who carries handcuffs, and knows when to use them.”

I tipped my head back, unable to contain my laughter.

This girl was too much. And I wanted more.

“You sure you’re okay?” I asked, sizing up Eden as she sat curled up on her boyfriend’s couch, wearing a blanket like a shawl.

“Yes, but you’re gonna have to be the one to convince Mama and Daddy of that.” She rolled her eyes. “They won’t believe me. Or even Austin. Said they need to hear it from you.” She waved her hand. “Because apparently you have more experience with these things.”

“I’ll call them later. Where’s Austin?”

“In the shower. He should be out in a bit. Thank God Mama and Daddy were in bed when news broke that I was missing. Otherwise, they would have lost their minds.”

“No doubt.”

I glanced at my phone and couldn’t help but smile when I saw a text from Rylee. Apparently, she’d just left the hospital and was heading to the first radio station. She’d be live on the air twice that afternoon and provided details, in case I was interested in tuning in.